1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to cages of the type typically used to transport and house animals, such as dogs and cats. More particularly, the present invention relates to the means of ingress and egress for such animal cages.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many pet owners use portable cages to transport their animals. The prior art is replete with different styles and shapes of animal cages for use in transporting small to medium sized animals. Most such animal cages contain doors that can be selectively opened and closed. Once closed, the doors to the cages can be locked so that the animal in the cage is confined.
Many pet owners also use such portable cages as homes for their pets. When used as a pet home, the door to the cage is left open and the animal is trained to sleep in the cage. The cage door is closed when it is desired to have the pet confined. For example, the pet may be confined when company is arriving, or at night when the pet is unsupervised and may cause damage to the house.
Most portable animal cages have sections of wire mesh. This lets the pet in the cage receive fresh air while confined in the cage. However, the free flow of ambient air into an animal cage is dangerous when the animal cage is exposed to smoke or fire. Due to the structure of most animal cages, they offer practically no protection to an animal from either the heat or smoke of a fire. Rather, such cages are the cause of many animal deaths because the cages prevent animals from escaping the heat and smoke of a fire. In many instances, animals that would have fled to safety have died because they have been confined in a cage.
In settings such as kennels, pet stores and the like, there have been instances where dozens of animals have died from an otherwise harmless fire, because the animals were confined in cages and were unable to escape the heat and smoke produced by the fire.
In the prior art there have been fire safety devices developed for animals. Many of these devices are for use with large expensive animals, such as livestock, and typically contain a device for opening a closed barn if fire is detected. Such prior art systems are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 1,006,914 to Cox, entitled Automatic Fire Alarm And Animal Releasing Device; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,652,563 to Maus, entitled Safety System For A Horse Stable.
The motivation to save livestock and other expensive animals is obvious. A farmer or horse breeder can lose his/her livelihood if their animals are killed in a fire. As such, large, complex and expensive fire escape systems are cost effective. However, these systems are designed into the structure of large buildings and would be impractical for use in saving the family pet.
Systems that are designed for the family pet do not address helping a pet escape from a closed holding cage. Rather, such prior art systems are also built into a building and assume that a pet is not confined in a cage or tethered. Such prior art systems merely open a door to a large structure, such as a home or a barn, so that the animal can escape. These prior art systems are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,331, to Cleri, entitled Pet Escape Device.
A need therefore exists for a low cost escape device that enables a pet to escape from a portable holding cage. In this manner, an animal has the opportunity to escape the heat and smoke of a localized fire while still remaining in the building. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.
The present invention is a system and method of freeing a pet from a portable holding cage. The portable holding cage has a door that can be locked in a closed position by an electromechanical locking mechanism. The operation of the electromechanical locking mechanism is controlled by a systems controller. The systems controller monitors alarm signals transmitted to it from a remote smoke detector. The transmitted alarm signals can be audible alarm signals, radio alarm signals or optical alarm signals. Once the alarm signal is received and identified by the systems controller, the systems controller activates the electromechanical locking mechanism and opens the door to the holding cage.
In this manner, a smoke detector located at a point remote from the animal holding cage can be used to automatically open the animal holding cage when smoke is detected. This enables a confined pet to be able to leave the holding cage and flee to a location safe from smoke and flame.